Friday, May 16, 2014

Hubby and Wifey Date Diaries: Momma Brown Cafe Marcos Highway

Dan and I were supposed to try Lartizan in Serendra after work but since it's a weekend payday for the normal workforce, we got intimidated by the thought of heavy traffic on our way back. So, we decided to stay close to home and try Momma Brown Cafe along Marcos Highway.

The cafe is spacious and nicely furnished with high ceiling and cute framed sayings.











 We ordered spaghetti parmigiana (Php169), carrot cupcake (Php70), salted caramel cupcake (Php70), and brewed coffee. We paid around Php340 in total. Not bad considering the taste. My only comment was that the cupcakes were a bit smaller than the usual. They were moist and chewy though, especially the carrot cupcake. The spaghetti parmigiana was quite good too. The spaghetti sauce was perfectly italian just the way I like it and the chicken fillets were tasty too. Though they need to prolly pick a better brand of pasta noodles.










Thursday, May 15, 2014

Mother's Day Dinner at Mesa SM Aura

We celebrated Mother's Day through dinner at SM Aura. We also shopped for Zoe's school needs so it was like hitting two birds with one stone. The Mother, though, made an impromptu decision to buy an Ipad Mini after telling me that we were just going to 'look' at PowerMac. How impulsive. I was so jealous that I couldn't also make that impromptu purchase :D



So we went to Mesa after all that shopping (separate post on Zoe's school stuff). The last time I dined at Mesa was on my 30th birthday in Boracay. I barely tasted the food since we went there without a yaya and Zoe was already asleep. We just took her with us to the resto while sleeping and we were in such a hurry to scarf our food that I couldn't even remember a single thing we ordered. 

So this time, we ordered properly. We got tinapa roll wrapped in lettuce, sinigang na ulo ng salmon, beef kare-kare, giant grilled squid, and crispy boneless tilapia with four sauces.

Food Comments:

Tinapa Roll - "Oh My' -- this was my statement when I tasted the tinapa roll. It was soooooo good. I honestly could've eaten just that and be completely happy with my meal. It was that good.




Sinigang na Ulo ng Salmon - We were in agreement on how good this was. Very tasty and sour, exactly how I like my sinigang. I was sad to not have been able to get a second serving.





Beef Kare Kare - This was really good too, especially the sauce. I just hoped that it had more chunky pieces of beef just like the kare kare in Kanin Club (which is by far the best kare kare for me). Zoe really liked this.




Giant Grilled Squid - It was a big ordinary grilled squid for me. I found it too rubbery though and my jaws got tired of chewing it so I gave my remaining pieces to Dan.



Crispy Boneless Tilapia - This was ok too, although it almost tasted a bit like chicharon for me. I didn't get to sample the sauces because I tasted this last and I was already full by then.


All in all, it was a really satisfying gastronomic experience for us. I wouldn't mind coming back especially when I think of the tinapia rolls. Sorry, I really can't get over it. 






Zoe's Pre Evaluation at ISYC

Yes, this is a late post. Zoe's pre-assessment at ISYC actually happened back in May 2nd. 

I took Zoe to her pre-assessment very early Friday. We even got there earlier than the scheduled time so Teacher Leah processed the payment validation slip first and took us to the second floor to fit Zoe's uniforms. I was told that the new stocks hadn't come in yet so I'd have to wait until end of May which is fine. She's getting four sets of uniforms which are part of the fee that we paid for. 



After fitting the uniforms, we proceeded to classroom 2 where Teacher Nina was waiting, for the assessment. I didn't even have to talk to Zoe anymore, she immediately went inside the classroom and sat on the chair. I actually felt a little bit discarded that time hahaha. Teacher Leah was amazed that Zoe didn't need coaxing nor ME inside the same room. Hmph.





So I just watched from outside and took a bit of photos. I saw them talking and Teacher Leah took out pens, strings, papers, and puzzles. They wrapped up after about 15 minutes. This was Zoe's assessment sheet and I was so proud!


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Juicesabel

I haven't been working out since the week of my birthday and I've also been eating rather unhealthily for the past couple of days. What's worse is that I haven't been able to make my juices at home due to my schedule at work. Whenever I get home from the office, I would almost want to crawl into bed immediately. It's because of all these things that I decided to plan a mini-detox for myself. 

I found out about Juicesabel from a co-worker. Juicesabel sells their juices for Php150 a bottle which is super affordable compared to other juicers out there who sell theirs for 200++ a bottle. Here is a list of their flavors and detox plans.




I decided to order 6 bottles ala carte -- 2 bottles each of Citrusade, Oh Malunggay, and Power Green. I knew I woudn't be able to survive on juices alone so I said I'll do a semi-detox for 2 days. The transaction was super fast and seamless; I texted them and asked them to deliver to my office the following morning. They deliver to BGC for free for a minimum of 4 juices. Otherwise, you can also drop by their shop in Kalayaan to buy.


Out of the three flavors that I ordered, my favorite is Citrusade. I also liked Oh Malunggay mainly because of its pineapple after taste. Power Green was the least that I liked just because I really don't like vegetables (which is why juicing works for me since I can just hold my breath for a few seconds and gulp my veggies in one go). 

Will I try this again? I sure will. Not only is this healthy but I find it convenient as well. Plus points for the affordability :)

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Taal Vista Tagaytay Birthday Weekend

It was our first time to stay overnight in Tagaytay and we decided to book a room at Taal Vista since I've read a lot of good reviews on this hotel. 

I was warmly greeted by their staff and receptionists when we got there Sunday morning. We arrived quite early at past 10 in the morning and we've already had breakfast at Bag of Beans. I just wanted to see if we could check in early but I didn't keep my hopes up since I was told that they were fully booked on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to check in and get our room ready in about an hour. Nice! Raffy, the check in staff was so gracious and helpful. 





We stayed at the garden while waiting for our room to be ready.



Our room 





We passed by the swimming pool on our way to our room so the little one couldn't wait to take a dip. 







We took a nap after swimming. At 4PM, we decided to go to Sky Ranch. It was our first time to ride a horse! Zoe was so much braver than I was.









Zoe didn't want to try the other rides so we all headed out to Josephine's for early dinner.







32nd Birthday Lunch at Patio Vera

We first tried Patio Vera a few months back. We were impressed with the ambiance and food so I decided to treat my family out for dinner on my birthday here.